McNish edges closer to LeMans title; Brabham shunted

Audi driver Allan McNish has virtually secured the American Le Mans Series title by finishing second in the weekend's 11th round at Las Vegas.

McNish edges closer to LeMans title; Brabham shunted

29 October 2000Bob Jennings

Audi driver Allan McNish has virtually secured the American Le Mans Series title by finishing second in the weekend's 11th round at Las Vegas.

In a crash-marred race, victory went to Audi team-mates Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro. And for the second consecutive race, Australian David Brabham had his chances of victory demolished with less than an hour remaining.

Brabham's Panoz team-mate, the rapid Jan Magnussen, made a storming start to grab the lead from the two front-row Audis at the green flag.

Despite a stop-go penalty for tangling with McNish, Magnussen regularly ran at the front of the pack until a restart from a safety car period at the two-hour mark.

The BMW of Jorg Muller tapped the second Panoz, driven by Johnny O'Connell. Muller's car was then struck by one of the Audis which was then hit by Brabham. Former Grand Prix driver Stefan Johansson then hit Brabham's car, tearing off the rear wing.

O'Connell's car was eliminated by the crash while Muller and Brabham made lengthy pitstops to repair the damage.

"Everything was happening in front of me then Biela stopped in front of me," Brabham said. "I hit him, went back on the throttle but couldn't find a gear although my dash display was telling me I had one. I think when I hit the Audi it must have knocked my car into neutral.

"While I was trying to find a gear I got hit up the rear by Johansson who had nowhere else to go. I'm bitterly disappointed as the car felt really good and we had a chance of winning this race."

Second place for the battered Audi of McNish - driving with Dindo Capello - has virtually sealed the driver's championship for the Scot, but Pirro was delighted to grab his third victory of the year with Biela.

Olivier Beretta moved a step closer to the GTS division championship after taking victory with Karl Wendlinger in a Dodge Viper. The win was the second in succession for the duo which has been battling hard with the Corvette squad.

Saascha Massen and veteran Bob Wollek took the GT victory in a Porsche GT3-R.

The Le Mans Series will finish in Adelaide with the final round on December 31.